A Valuable Community

Why should I sign up?

• A First-Year Interest Group (Living Learning Community) offers a ready-made study group of people who are taking many of the same classes. With the support of others, studying is more fun. Study groups help you earn higher grades.
• Students are automatically enrolled in two to four classes-essentially guaranteed enrollment in those hard to get first-year classes. Some course clusters include major-requirements, while most meet one or more University Studies requirements. Classes are scheduled at times most students find convenient. Students select additional courses to fill out their schedules with the help of academic advisors during the advising appointment.
• A FIG provides fun activities. By living in a residence hall with others who share your interests, a shared learning and living environment will launch you into a fun and successful first-year experience. Your Resident Assistant (RA) is also someone who shares the same interests, which makes for  floor activities with higher impact.
• Being in a FIG leads to higher persistence in college. Students who are in a FIG/LLC program come back for a second academic year at higher rates than those who do not participate in this program.

	First-Year Interest Group Fall-to-Fall Retention		Non-FIG Student Fall-to-Fall Retention		Compare
students starting in…	Total FIG students	% Retained	Total Non-FIG students	% Retained	FIG vs. Non-FIG
Fall 2012	236	81.4%	1,342	72.6%	+8.8%
Fall 2013	255	82.0%	1,313	74.1%	+7.9%
Fall 2014	371	80.3%	1,183	74.9%	+5.4%
Fall 2015	335	83.0%	1,339	74.8%	+8.2%
Fall 2016	267	81.3%	1,267	77.4%	+3.9%
Fall 2017	224	79.0%	1,460	77.8%	+1.2%
Fall 2018	218	84.9%	1,631	74.4%	+10.5%
Fall 2019	224	82.1%	1,528	79.0%	+3.1%
Fall 2020	196	76.5%	1,205	76.0%	+0.5%
Fall 2021	218	78.0%	1,233	74.9%	+3.1%
Fall 2022	268	78.4%	1,320	76.7%	+1.3%
Fall 2023	305	80.3%	924	78.6%	+1.7%
AVERAGE		80.6%		75.6%	+5.0%

Student Voices

I 100% recommend it. I have heard so many stories from other students, not in a FIG, about how they feel like they don't know their neighbors, and are not connected as a floor. I feel like our floor is really great, and I know most everyone. Also, another plus, if you need help with your homework it is so nice to have basically a whole floor of people who can help you. So nice!!

I love the program. I met a ton of new people that have similar interests that I do, we also all have similar goals. It is also a good program, since everyone has some classes together and they are always there to help if you need it

In a FIG program you get to meet and have fun with people that have the same interests. You sometimes do floor activities with them and you automatically get a great group of friends that are there for school and not other things, they are serious.